Grocery Store Marketing: Recipe Cards

[balou]

Does anyone have any experience with designing for grocery store marketing? I have a client that wants to make some recipe cards for dishes containing his frozen ground sausage product. Is there an industry standard here? My first instinct is to go with a regular 3.5"x5" recipe card but I've also seen the tear-off pads (color, glossy paper with glued edge) in the stores. Have you ever seen recipe cards in the freezer section? I think I have to go do some research.

[DesignVHL]

will it be in the store as a part of a display, or hanging near the product/shelf? I think the tear off pad is a great idea...and makes it easy for the stores to put out.

I would go a little bigger...maybe see what the size of recipe boxes are - if there even IS a standard size. I know hallmark sells some. :)

[balou]

The product is in the freezer section, so if it's going to be near the product, it would have to go on the freezer door or something. Maybe a pad of tear off recipes and a cardboard backer with mounting pads?

Let's do a little survey, do people still use recipe boxes?

[DesignVHL]

i wouldn't even know...i know they still sell them though! I ended up getting my step-mother a recipe book where she can add pages (from hallmark) so i chose that instead....

ME personally, I have a folder of recipes on my computer all in text files, lol...but thats me - i rarely cook and if i do i make recipes up. :P

[Mynock]

My wife uses them, but I think most of the ones she uses are in books.

[Kool]

Let's do a little survey, do people still use recipe boxes?

I do, and it holds 3.5 x 5 cards. I did inherit it from my mother though and the box itself is probably 40 or 50 years old. I have no idea if that size is still standard though or even if there is a standard size. The ones I grab from the supermarket are always bigger and I have to fold them to fit in the box.

[GraphixNPrint]

balou, I used to manage a Winn-Dixie grocery store... years ago.. damn I am getting old!

Generally the marketing companies supply "shelf talkers" that can either be pads attached by adhesive backing to a plastic strip that fits in the shelf rail. For the frozen foods cases they can either be attached via the plastic clips that snap in the shelf rail, or do away with those and just attach directly to the glass via the adhesive strip in the back.

Most that I have seen are printed pads using 60lb c2s book with a thin cardboard backing.

Your local grocery store (probably Krogers, Farmer Johns, etc in your area) usually have recipe marketing materials in their meat departments year round. Go there and see what you can find. If you dont see any out, as for the grocery manager, asst store manage or pricing manager... all of who should know if they have something that has recently came in and has not been displayed yet.

[PrintDriver]

Both of the recipe boxes I inherited hold 3x5 cards (not 3.5"?)
One is so old it is made of wood and has dovetail joints (Gran's).
There's quite a number of folded things stapled to cards too.

[balou]

Thanks for the info GNP. I do need to do some more investigating.

And thanks for the info Kool & PD on recipe cards. I too have a wooden recipe card box from my grandma. She loved anything chocolate so it's jam packed with decadence!

Recipes are all over the place... books, boxes, plastic sleeves, notebooks. Here we go Steve J...iCook? ;)

[budafist]

Yup. Make sure the card has a gorgeous picture of the final product/dish on the front side. The recipe can go on the back. That's surely the way to get those hungry shoppers.

[Mynock]

Oh yeah, and scratch and sniff.

[balou]

LOL! Scratch 'n sniff sausage. Sounds gross. And kind of pervy too.

[GraphixNPrint]

Oh yeah, and scratch and sniff.Why am I so happy this wasn't posted in the condom thread from yesterday?

[CkretAjint]

I don't have one. But I did get a photo-holder filled with a bunch of family recipes over the holidays. I thought it was quite different.

I can't imagine having an entire recipe on a 5" wide card (one sided)...

[budafist]

I love reading recipes and menus. Could you guess? :D

I've been asking for recipes that mum made for us when we were kids but she's been stalling. She reckons she has to make each recipe to be able to write down the process/amounts.

[GraphixNPrint]

I've been asking for recipes that mum made for us when we were kids but she's been stalling. She reckons she has to make each recipe to be able to write down the process/amounts.
Tell her its a good reason to get you to come over for dinner more often ;)

[CkretAjint]

I love reading recipes and menus. Could you guess? :D

I've been asking for recipes that mum made for us when we were kids but she's been stalling. She reckons she has to make each recipe to be able to write down the process/amounts.

Make sure you tell her you want exact measurements! I asked my mom and got "Pinch of salt" - "dash of Cuman". Her pinch and dash are like 500% less then mine with my giant hands!

[DesignVHL]

lol i always hate it when i read that on a recipe too....your guacamole may come out too salty! :P Oops that doesn't translate well apparently..lets try this one::p there we go! and this for added love...:D

[CkretAjint]

Not mine! DOWN WITH GUAC!!! :mad:

[budafist]

lol! I'm a pinch of salt and dash of cumin kind of girl too.

I hate measuring things (I don't have the tools). Cups and spoons I can handle (half a cup of this, 2 spoons of that) since it's just counting, not measuring. Don't tell me 70mls or 150g because I don't have a measuring jug or scales. My guesstimates aren't not so good either. Which is why baking is always a failure with me.

[budafist]

BTW guac is easy, you just salt it to taste

What's hard is salting a meat mixture. I don't want to taste raw meat, I guess the trick is to season it after it's been cooked. But then that's not marinade at all! That's just sauce!

[DesignVHL]

when i make my guac i just pinch and dabble too though..depends what it is - if its a more complicted recipe i need exact meas. to be sure it comes out...

[PrintDriver]

Gran's box has 3 or 4 versions of the same recipe. All in her handwriting. One of them is her family standard. You know, the one you always remember when you go to Grandma's house? Question is, which one?

I could get into an iCook. Something with a plastic covered keyboard though. I get into my cooking sometimes. One that spits out a grocery list would be helpful too so you aren't missing that one necessary ingrediant. :D

[budafist]

Whenever I print out recipes (online or retyped by me) I always make the writing giant. No use in having to come right up close to a recipe when my hands are busy. A projection of a recipe on the wall would be even cooooooler!